We Are Exchanging Experience about Child, Early and Forced Marriages with the MoI of Montenegro and Centre for Roma Initiatives

At the beginning of February 2017, Praxis was visited by the representatives of the Ministry of Interior of Montenegro and Centre for Roma Initiatives with an aim to exchange experience about the mechanism of prevention and elimination of child, early and forced marriages.

The visit to Praxis was part of a study visit to Belgrade, organized by the Centre for Roma Initiatives in cooperation with the Ministry of Interior of Montenegro, as part of the project “Coordinated action to combat violence and child marriages in Roma and Egyptian Community”, which is implemented in cooperation with UNICEF in Montenegro and financial support of EU. This project is part of a many-year regional initiative aimed at improving the protection of children from violence and social inclusion of children with disabilities, which is implemented by UNICEF, European Disability Forum - EDF, EU, and the governments of seven countries in the process of EU accession.

The goal of the study visit was to exchange knowledge and experience in relation to child, early and forced marriages with an aim to prepare “Guidelines for the treatment and processing of cases of forced marriages in Roma and Egyptian communities for the needs of police, social working centres, schools, courts and health centres” in Montenegro.

Unlike the Ministry of Interior of Montenegro, which expressed willingness to react to the occurrence of child, early and forced marriages, the lack of institutional will to responsibly deal with this problem is still evident in Serbia.